Seven patients who died following hospitalization for chikungunya and dengue virus co-infection all had fever and joint pain yet varied in terms of the viruses' effect on organ function and overall pathology, according to a study today in Eurosurveillance.
In a large trial in the West African country of Mali, influenza vaccination in pregnant women was found to be more than 60% effective in preventing lab-confirmed flu in newborn infants for the first 4 months of life, according to a report published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Chinese officials last week reported a human case of H5N6 avian flu, according to a post today on FluTrackers, an infectious disease message board.
The case involves a 50-year-old man from Jishou city in Hunan province's Xiangxi autonomous prefecture, FluTrackers said. He is hospitalized in critical condition.
The seventh and last major rule of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), this one focusing on preventing intentional adulteration of the food supply and its consequences, is now final and will be published tomorrow in the Federal Register.
A new survey study hints that perceived discrimination may be a factor in low influenza vaccine uptake in racial and ethnic minorities, but the researchers found that it was not significant in comparison with other factors, such as education, according to a report in Medical Care.
Chinese officials reported another human case of H7N9 avian influenza, the second such infection in Hebei province in nearly 3 years, according to a post yesterday on Avian Flu Diary (AFD). Elsewhere, Egypt documented an H9 case in a toddler, according to a May 19 World Health Organization (WHO) report.
Death rates and demographic characteristics associated with H5N1avian flu infections have remained relatively stable, even in Egypt, where human cases surged dramatically more than a year ago, according to a study yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
No new MERS-CoV cases have been reported today, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has posted information on the case reported recently from Qatar as well as details of several previously reported cases from Saudi Arabia.
Cambodia, Ghana, and Indonesia report H5N1, and Italy notes its 2nd H7N7 event this month.
Ending a 9-day stretch with no new cases, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday reported a MERS-CoV infection in a 72-year-old man from Hail in the north central part of the country, according to an MOH notification.
The man is in stable condition, and an investigation into the source of his illness found that he had contact with camels before he got sick.
